The present invention relates to a laundry washing or drying machine having an outer drum and an inner drum, the inner drum being rotatably disposed in the outer drum and adapted to support laundry items to be treated in the machine. The inner drum, at one gable, is connected with a pulley or the like drivingly connected with a corresponding drive pulley driven by an electric motor. The inner drum is also, at one or both gables, provided with a shaft journalled in a seat provided adjacent to an opening in a corresponding gable in the outer drum.
A standard journalling of a rotatable inner drum in a front-loading washing machine comprises a solid steel shaft welded to one gable of the inner drum. In top-loading machines, shafts are welded to both gables of the inner drum. Each shaft cooperates with a seat in a bearing housing, typically made from cast iron and having large dimensions in order to carry forces generated during rotation of the drum. The solid shaft and the cast iron bearing housing have considerable weight causing the resulting machine to become heavier. Due to the solid shaft, the weight of the rotating drum increases, putting extensive demands on the supporting components of the machine, such as springs and motion damping arrangements. One example of such a washing machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,636.
In JP-A-01299596, a tumble drier is disclosed which is adapted for drying textiles and in which, for the purpose of reducing the axial dimensions of the drum journalling, a journalling has been used which comprises a seat and a stub axle formed by a pressing in a sheet metal plate. The sheet metal plate is then, by means of suitable connecting means, secured to an outer wall of the tumble drier so that the stub axle projects through an opening in the outer wall. The seat is disposed in a similar way so as to extend through an opening in the gable of the drum. A drawback of this embodiment is that both the stub axle and the seat have been formed as separate parts which then have to be secured to the outer wall and to the gable, respectively, resulting in increased labor during manufacture.